Merton e a sociologia médica / Merton and medical sociology

RESUMO

Trata das principais contribuições do sociólogo norte-americano Robert King Merton (1910-2003), sobretudo aquelas voltadas para o campo da sociologia médica. Assinala sua contribuição para a implantação de um pensamento social na área da medicina. Destaca sua vocação para a sociologia e o trajeto singular de suas pesquisas, voltadas para temas incomuns no início do século XX, especialmente as relações entre ciência, tecnologia e sociedade. Apresenta a contribuição teórico-conceitual do autor e a cunhagem de conceitos logo adotados pelos pesquisadores. No campo da sociologia médica, ressalta seu trabalho sobre o processo de socialização do estudante de medicina.

ABSTRACT

The article is about the main contributions of the North-American sociologist Robert King Merton (1910-2003), particularly those related to the field of medical sociology. Merton was first to conduct research on medical education, and the working team he formed was fundamental for the introduction of social thought in the medicine field (Patrícia Kendall, Renée Fox, Samuel Bloom and others). Of particular importance are Merton's vocation for sociology and the unique trajectory of his research, which was marked by studies on subjects that were not common in the early XX century, particularly the relationships between science, technology, and society. We provide the most important theoretical ad conceptual contribution brought by the author, as well as the expressions he created and which were soon adopted by researchers, such as 'focused interview', 'Matthew effects', 'Pygmalion effect', 'nonplanned consequences of social actions', 'manifest function', and 'latent function'. The highlight in the field of medical sociology is his work on the socialization process of the student of medicine.